"Russian oil giant LUKOIL has resumed gasoline sales into Iran together with China's state-run firm Zhuhai Zhenrong, even as the United States urges the global community to be tough with Tehran. Iran is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter but lacks adequate refining capacity to meet domestic demand for motor fuel, forcing it to import up to 40 percent of its requirements." (Reuters, "Russia's LUKOIL resumes gasoline supply to Iran-trade", 8/11/2010)

This revelation comes following an article in April, 2009, in which "Commodities Now" reported that "Russian oil company LUKoil’s trading arm LITASCO has decided to stop selling refined products to Iran, in what is widely understood to be a politically motivated move after pressure to do so from the Russian government."

Prior to this announcement, the company was reportedly "shipping between 250,000 and 500,000 barrels of gasoline (petrol) to Iran per month. (CommoditiesNow, "Lukoil Halts Fuel Trade with Iran," 4/9/2010).